LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE)- Thousands of people will flock to Downtown Louisville Saturday for Thunder Over Louisville.
As you plan your weekend, you'll want to click here for our complete Digital Derby Guide.
Throughout Saturday morning, crews were getting the last minute details checked off for the nation's biggest fireworks show. Things were going well and on pace, according to Kentucky Derby Festival.
A parking lot downtown along South Floyd Street full of motor homes, RVs and coaches is home-away-from-home for Clarence Monin, of Louisville. He and his family have camped out in their coach around this time, along with dozens of others, yearly for about a decade. He's been there since Thursday afternoon.
"Because it's an opportunity for all the family to get together and enjoy one another," Monin said.
He's got the creature comforts of home. As Thunder preparations were underway just steps from his door, he was getting ready too. Monin grilled burgers in front of his son-in-law's coach. The smell and sizzle of the meat filled the air.
Gary Harvey and his wife also brought their motor home to the special parking lot area for Thunder Over Louisville. This was their first time.
"We're cooking in our motor home and we hope to have our own little party right here at Thunder," said Harvey. "We came down at 10 o'clock and it's been non-stop since we got here. People going every which way and it's amazing the work that goes into this."
All over the area, security will be served up during the events.
"Security will be a presence," said Colonel Carl Yates of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. "There will be a presence of security everywhere. Our goal is to make this a safe event so everybody can have a good time."
On land and water, The U.S. Coast Guard will be on both shores.
"There's going to be Coast Guard Standing Auxiliary on reserve standing by to give safety briefs and ensure safe boating before they go out as well as many units out on the water," said United States Coast Guard Sector of Ohio Valley, Lt. Geoffrey Albe.
All week, Derby Festival crews have been setting up vendors and closing the Clark Memorial Bridge to finish fireworks installations. At the Galt House, the "They're off" luncheon was held Friday with at least 1,000 people in attendance. And upstairs, in the command center, the annual good luck bean soup lunch. Plus something all new.
"We have more air acts than we've ever had before," KDF Communications Director Aimee Boyd said. "This will be one of the largest, if not the largest one-day air show in the country this year."
Thunder lived up to its name as a United States Air Force F-22 Raptor practiced dazzling air show maneuvers in the air at times approaching the speed of sound!
"The good planes, like the F-22, the F-15, they do an air shot situation where they like to soar up, go parallel with full after burners. Man that makes you patriotic!" Monin said with a smile.
Copyright 2012 WAVE News. All rights reserved.
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 WorldNow and WAVE, a Raycom Media Station. 